Near-record cold to continue; NWS issues wind chill advisory

Published 10:57 am Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Given the winter thus far, it should come as no surprise that every night through Monday could dip below 0.

It’s the same story it has been nearly all season long. According to the National Weather Service in La Crosse, Wis., it could be Austin’s sixth-coldest winter at 9.6 degrees average temperature, calculating from Dec. 1 to Feb. 4. There were six missing days of data, however. The record for that timeframe is 6.9 degrees in 1979.

Tuesday’s high may only reach 4 degrees, and the overnight low could be another doozy at a forecasted 13 below. Wednesday’s high may follow with just 3 degrees and an overnight low of 7 below. NWS meteorologists also issued a wind chill advisory for Mower County and southeastern Minnesota through noon Thursday.

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Clearly, the cold streak could continue to approach the record.

“It looks like we remain in a cold pattern through this week,” said NWS meteorologist Dan Jones. “Right now, our forecasted temperatures, as far as low temperatures go for the rest of this week and into this weekend, are looking at below 0 temperatures in the Austin area.”

Furthermore, Jones and meteorologists expect February temperatures to remain below average in the area.

“The way it just looks as far as our pattern setting up for the next week, it will probably remain below normal for the rest of this month,” Jones said.